Since its founding in 2001, the New Hampshire Institute of Politics (NHIOP) has become a must-stop destination in American politics, especially during each election cycle. One of the ways that the Institute has conveyed the evolution of American politics and Saint Anselm College’s role in it has been through the New Hampshire Political Library.
Founded in 1997 by Governor Hugh Gregg and Secretary of State Bill Gardner and moved to the NHIOP in 2010, this library is a non-profit organization that plays an integral role in the collection and preservation of artifacts that span over half a century. Started by Professor Beth Salerno, chair of the History department, Saint Anselm student interns sort both donations and artifacts that the Institute has kept over the years to create exhibits of politics both past and present that are on display along the walls of the building.
Currently, two senior student interns with the Political Library, Bryan Lavoie ’22 and Connor O’Neill ’22, have been working on both long and short-term exhibit projects for the Institute; their current focus is on an exhibit involving U.S. relations with Ukraine. These exhibits include important memorabilia that they find in over a hundred boxes the Institute has accumulated, such as pins, banners, or small signs. Once put together, the artifacts are displayed in a glass box and hung in the NHIOP.
“The time I have spent in the NHIOP has shown me how important it is to remember the past and learn from it in the modern era. Getting to put together presentations ranging from an electoral map comparison through the years to how a pandemic impacts an election have been highlights of my time working down here,” said Lavoie ’22, an American Studies major who has been working on these archives as an intern for the past three years.
The hope for these exhibits is that, in addition to classrooms, the building will also feel like a museum telling the Institute’s story and its growing involvement in politics, both past and present, where its history is on display for the public to appreciate.
“We are focusing on turning the NHIOP into an experience where visitors and students can explore the rich political history of New Hampshire and Saint Anselm College,” said Neil Levesque, the Executive Director of the NHIOP.
O’Neill ’22, a senior politics major, has also been working on these exhibits for quite some time, with most of his work being done during his summer internship with the NHIOP in 2021. For example, he created a series of exhibits that represented a timeline of presidential elections from 2005 to 2020, with artifacts ranging from George Bush campaign stickers to Donald Trump pins.
“The most rewarding experience in making the exhibits is that I am able to use both my knowledge of history and politics to help curate an educational experience for all those who visit the Institute,” said O’Neill.
Through the years, students have created exhibits from the library’s artifacts, with the three permanent exhibits being NH Primary Candidates from 2000-to 2016 by Connor O’Neill ‘22, Kennedy’s 1960 campaign by Sarah Hummel ‘19, and President Eisenhower’s New Hampshire Tour in 1955 by Julianne Plourde ‘20. This work was also continued throughout the pandemic by students creating virtual exhibits and posting them on the NHIOP website’s blog page.
The New Hampshire Political Library has and continues to be an amazing opportunity for whoever enters those storied doors to view the various exhibits and admire just how much has happened since the Institute’s founding in 2001.